John T. Hartman Elementary, Kansas City MO

Original Research by School Decision on John T. Hartman Elementary

John T. Hartman Elementary is a regular public school in Kansas City, Missouri, serving students from prekindergarten through sixth grade. It is part of the Kansas City 33 district, which regained full state accreditation in 2022 after a period of provisional status—a shift that removed a layer of uncertainty for families in the district.

On state assessments, Hartman Elementary shows a mixed but notably strong picture when placed against other elementary schools in Jackson County. The school’s overall proficiency across tested grades and subjects lands it in the top quartile among districts in the county. In math, third graders posted a solid proficiency rate, while fourth and sixth graders were in the middle range; results for fifth grade math were suppressed, likely because the tested group was too small to report publicly. In English language arts, third grade reading was strong, but fourth grade proficiency was markedly lower—a soft spot a parent may want to follow up on with the school. Fifth and sixth grade ELA results were also suppressed. In science, tested only in fifth grade, students performed well. The suppressed results across several grades mean the full picture of academic performance is incomplete, but the data that is available points to a school that, on balance, performs above many other schools in a large, diverse county.

The student body is small for an elementary school and is almost exclusively composed of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a high-poverty context. Racially, the enrollment is predominantly Black, with smaller shares of Hispanic, White, multiracial, and a handful of Native American and Pacific Islander students. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the data provided.

The school sits in the Kansas City ZIP code that covers a middle-market housing area: home values are somewhat above the state average, and rents have been rising. The broader city is a major urban center, car-dependent overall but with walkable pockets, known for its boulevards, jazz heritage, and barbecue. For a family considering this school, the housing market around it reflects moderate affordability relative to national benchmarks.

Hartman Elementary’s academic profile is strongest in the early elementary years and in science, with a noticeable dip in fourth grade reading that might bear watching. The school’s top quartile standing among Jackson County districts is a genuine strength, especially given the high-share of low-income students it serves. The lack of discipline, attendance, and staffing data in the available records leaves some important questions unanswered, but the evidence that is here suggests a school that outperforms expectations for its context and that families with children in the tested grades should find several encouraging signs.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 370%

School 70% · District 19% · ▲ 51 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 18% · ▲ 31 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 654%

School 54% · District 22% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 365%

School 65% · District 20% · ▲ 45 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 18% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Science

Grade 566%

School 66% · District 17% · ▲ 49 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

This schoolKANSAS CITY 33, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.